Can color dilution alopecia happen in a blk/tan doberman?
My dog is almost 3 years old and has all the symptoms of color dilution alopecia but she is a black and tan not a blue or fawn. Can she have it?
She has been to the vet. No mange and the vet doesn’t think its thyroid based on her appearance. She does have a tan/brown undercoat over most of her body that is only supposed to be allowed around the neck area.
Tagged with: 3 years • appearance • color dilution alopecia • dilution • thyroid • undercoat • vet
Filed under: Alopecia Hair Loss
Your dog cannot have Color Dilution Alopecia ("CDA") because it isn’t a Dilute. To determine the cause of her hair loss, look first to her breeder. Do you still keep in contact with her breeder? The breeder should be able to let you know if the parents or other littermates have any baldness. If they do, then this is purely a genetic baldness pattern. If you can’t contact the breeder, then keep in mind that there is no way to know if this is simply baldness.
My next guess, however, would be allergies. Is she scratching or licking a lot? Does she get any yeast infections? Any itchy ears or eyes? Or goop in her eyes? If she has any of these symptoms, she may have allergy problems. Since most kibbles have the same ingredients, buying an expensive kibble won’t fix this problem – first you have to know what she’s allergic to. I’d say you need to do 1 of 2 things: (1) Put her on an elimination diet, where you feed her one novel protein (i.e., a protein source she hasn’t been exposed to before – so if her kibble has chicken and beef in it, try buying a kibble with just fish in it) and nothing else. If you ask at the pet store (try a local independent pet store), they should be able to help you find a good kibble. No treats, no nothing, just the kibble. For 2 months, minimum, to see if her symptoms cease and her hair starts coming back in. OR… (2) Put her on a raw diet. Most dogs that are on raw diets stop having allergy problems pretty quickly. Since most kibbles have some sort of grain or other gluten source, if that’s what they’re allergic to, then no kibble will help. On raw, their coats, and everything else about their general health, improve unbelievably. It’s great. Not to mention the smaller, less frequent bowel movements and the decrease in the amount of gas expelled from their guts! Heaven. If you’d like to learn more about raw feeding, please check out the Yahoo! Group "Rawfeeding."
If you really don’t think it’s genetics or allergies, then the thyroid would be the next place to look. She’s a bit young to be showing symptoms at 3 years, but it’s not impossible. Has she recently developed any behavioral problems like unexpected aggressive outbursts (another symptom of thyroid problems)? If you choose to test her thyroid, don’t have your regular vet do it – just have him draw the sample and send it to Dr. Dodds. Just do a Google search for "Dr. Dodds Hemopet" and you’ll find all the information you need to get this done. Dr. Dodds tests all 6 thyroid factors, whereas most vets only test four. And they analyze the results based on the sex, age and breed of the animal, instead of just generalizing all dogs as having the same healthy levels. This is definitely the way to go.
No, she must be a dilute to have it, but she could have mange, as are thyroid problems. They are common in Dobermans as are coat problems in general.
She cannot have CDA since she’s not a dilute but she can have alopecia (hair loss). It can happen to any dog any breed any age. Usually there’s a reason though, what are you feeding her? She could have an allergy. Most Dobes do well on Canidae or Wellness or Innova. Definitely get a thyroid test if you have not done so, low or high thyroid can cause hair loss and thyroid problems are common in Dobes.
It cannot be a diluted color issue since your dobe is not diluted. I would insist upon the vet running a thyroid panel just to be certain. Are there any other symptoms other than the hair loss?… rash?… flaky skin?… weeping/oozing?… scabs?…. etc. food allergy?… grass allergy?… Just a sidenote, be sure the bald spots are protected with sunscreen when your girl goes outside so she doesn’t get sunburned.